Future Unclear For Miller Freeman Staff

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Oct, 2000 by Jennifer F. Steil

VNU's Bill Communications will absorb holdings; San Francisco office to shut down in December.

The Miller Freeman USA assets that were acquired by Dutch publisher VNU in July for $650 million will merge into VNU subsidiary Bill Communications, probably by the end of this year, according to a company spokesperson. By the same token, Miller Freeman USA will also lose its name and close its San Francisco headquarters-possibly eliminating dozens of jobs.

About 140 employees work at Miller Freeman's San Francisco headquarters. Bill Communications president Michael Marchesano says there will be job opportunities in New York for employees now in the San Francisco office. Meanwhile, Miller Freeman president Don Pazour is now deciding what his next move will be, while senior vice president Darrel Denny has left the company. However, according to Marchesano, most of the Miller Freeman management team is staying put.

Aside from its magazine, trade show and conference divisions being absorbed by Bill or VNU, not much else will change in terms of content.

"Miller Freeman is going away as its own entity. Bill is either absorbing some [Miller Freeman] positions or moving them to New York," says a spokesperson. "There maybe some transfer opportunities. But I only know a couple of people so far who have been approached about the possibility of moving."

Miller Freeman USA also has offices in New York, Dallas, Laguna Beach, California and Santa Monica, California, as well as a few satellite offices throughout the country, all of which will probably remain open, the spokesperson says.

It is not yet known which employees will be let go, or the exact date when the office will close, but the spokesperson says the understanding is that VNU is considering a staggered time line, with no layoffs to occur before December 31.

"The accounting department will continue on past the first of the year because they will be working on closing things out," the spokesperson says. "By the end of the first quarter, everything should be moved over."

The spokesperson says the decision to dissolve the Miller Freeman name was made a few weeks ago, and announced internally on August 21.

Company Snapshot

Miller Freeman USA, one of the biggest names in b-to-b publishing, is going away, its assets folded into corporate sibling Bill Communications. The publisher's parent company, United News & Media, sold a majority of the U.S.-based Miller Freeman properties--including the Sports & Apparel, Jewelry, Gift & Merchandise, Real Estate & Construction, and Travel divisions to Dutch publisher VNU in July for $650 million. From under the Miller Freeman USA umbrella, United News & Media retained computer publishing giant CMP Media and the Healthcare, Paper and Packaging divisions.

Miller Freeman USA [*]

Headquarters: San Francisco

Employees: 800

1999 revenues: $214 million

1999 EBITDA: $58 million

(*.) AT THE TIME OF THE VNU ACQUISITION IN JULY.